City of London’s tallest tower approved by Mayor’s office

A new tower that will house 12,000 workers in 100 businesses will be built on a site that has lain disused for four years, after the Mayor of London’s office approved development plans.

The redesigned tower at 22 Bishopsgate in the City of London will rise up in the place of a partially constructed seven-storey building – formerly known as ‘The Pinnacle’ – which was abandoned in 2012 as a result of the economic downturn.

The new 62-storey building will be the tallest in the ‘Square Mile’ at 295metres, sitting alongside the Heron Tower, the Walkie Talkie (20 Fenchurch Street) and the Cheesegrater (Leadenhall Building).

The building will provide 185,000 square metres of office space for about 12,000 people in 100 companies. The high-rise office tower will also feature a restaurant and bar, retail space and a viewing gallery open to the public.

The City of London gave planning permission for 22 Bishopsgate last month and after a detailed assessment, City Hall has given its approval for the development, which is due for completion in 2019. During the planning process, the Mayor also successfully sought to secure free public access to a viewing gallery.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP, said: “After lying abandoned for four years, 22 Bishopsgate will now get off the ground, providing much needed office space for thousands of city workers and a positive addition to the world-class architecture of the capital’s skyline. There will be more than 800,000 new jobs created in London over the next 20 years and there is no doubt that tall buildings that are sensitively managed, well designed and in the right place will continue to create the new office space the city needs to retain its place as one of the business capitals of the world.”

As well as the Mayor’s London Plan, his London View Management Framework ensures that London has the most robust planning rules and scrutiny in place so that the capital maintains and enhances its leading world city position with a dynamic evolving skyline.

Developer, Sir Stuart Lipton of Lipton Rogers, said: “The Mayor has recognised 22 Bishopsgate as a major contribution to the on-going vitality of the City of London with a distinguished and interesting building that includes a number of new innovations designed to put the health and wellness of people first and which aims to be the first building in London to adopt the new Delos WELL building standard.”

Anne Kavanagh, of real estate partners, Global Head of Asset Management at AXA Investment Managers – Real Assets, said: “Having received a resolution to grant planning permission from the City of London’s planning committee last month, the Mayor of London’s endorsement and approval of our plans represent another significant step forward for 22 Bishopsgate and keeps us on track to commence construction of this new London landmark in the first quarter of next year.”